Cuccinelli was bested by Democrat Terry McAuliffe on [election day], although the margin was smaller than many observers expected.

The report calls to mind Christie’s decision to decline an invitation to campaign in Pennsylvania for Mitt Romney days after Hurricane Sandy battered New Jersey.

Since Cooch is, I believe, the only semi-prominent Republican in the country who’s calling for Christie to step down, I’m going to go ahead and treat the story about Christie snubbing him on the trail as now confirmed. Needless to say, though, unless and until Jersey Dems tie Christie to Bridgegate directly, there’s not a whisper of a chance of it happening. Resigning as head of the RGA would be a tacit admission that this scandal is a Very Big Deal and that Christie’s so tainted by it that he can no longer be effective as a fundraiser. Once he admits that, he’s done in 2016. So he’ll press on and hope it either goes away or turns him into some sort of martyr of lefty media to Republican audiences. That’s the way GOP pols are betting: When Myra Adams asked two Republican strategists whether he should quit the group, they told her “Hell no” and “Outside of the liberal media, this Christie ‘scandal’ has no legs.” Christie had been scheduled to fundraise last weekend with Rick Scott in Florida before Bridgegate broke, and while Scott’s team reportedly debated whether to rescind the invite, they ultimately went ahead with the event, calculating apparently that a charismatic northeastern governor was still an asset on balance with wealthy Floridians even post-scandal. The only tweak to the Christie/Scott meeting, as far as I know, was that details were kept more secretive than usual — although, if you believe one of Scott’s donor, that was at Christie’s behest, not Scott’s. Maybe the big guy just didn’t want to be inundated with media asking about Bridgegate when he’s busy trying to demonstrate his cachet to swing-state voters.

I’m surprised, actually, that tea partiers haven’t made a bigger deal about urging Christie to resign from the RGA. If you want to brand him permanently as damaged goods before 2016, forcing him to shed his role as a party standard-bearer is the way to do it. How can you qualify to be your party’s nominee if you can’t qualify to head the RGA?

I’m surprised, actually, that tea partiers haven’t made a bigger deal about urging Christie to resign from the RGA. If you want to brand him permanently as damaged goods before 2016, forcing him to shed his role as a party standard-bearer is the way to do it. How can you qualify to be your party’s nominee if you can’t qualify to head the RGA?

I don’t think he should resign unless it’s proven he lied about being unaware of Bridgegate(or worse he was behind it). As for branding him damaged goods, I’m not sweating that. Despite what the establishment GOP and the media have deluded themselves into believing, CRISTie always had an uphill climb to the 2016 nomination. When the base doesn’t like or trust you, the only way to win is to clear the field(i.e. the Romney Death Star). And all that does is set you up to get your ass handed to you in the general election.

Despite the hard feelings I’m not sure Cuccinelli is doing himself any good by talking down other Republicans. He should be worried about his own standing for future elections, not re-litigating the past.

Despite the hard feelings I’m not sure Cuccinelli is doing himself any good by talking down other Republicans. He should be worried about his own standing for future elections, not re-litigating the past.

Tater Salad on January 22, 2014 at 11:32 AM

On the contrary, the VA GOP is at a crossroads and there is a real threat it will be taken over by a bunch of RINOs who are identical to VA Democrats. Cuccinelli is part of the other faction.

I will never EVER vote for the fat man for any office. If the GOP continues to push him as the future of the GOP, then they’ll lose more than they think that they’ll gain.

Somebody supporting Christie really needs to explain just how they think the fat bastard who endorsed Obama on the eve of the 2012 elections thinks that he (Christie) can win the support of real Republicans.

Christie is NO Conservative. He’s just another McLame or Grahamnesty. And we all know how elections turn out when the GOP nominates a progressive, DemocRat-Lite Republican. It leads to very happy DimocRats.

As a Conservative voter that has already dumped the GOP, I won’t shed any tears at all if Christie isn’t part of the mix to muddy the nomination waters even further.

If the GOP nominates anyone other than someone Conservatives will get out and support, not only will they lose again in 2016, but it will spell the end of the GOP.

I tacked this clip onto last night’s QOTD but figured Christie-haters would enjoy seeing it get some extra attention.

Does Christie really get you guys this many clicks? I don’t recall HA readership favorite Sarah Palin getting this much attention. You guys should consider starting a spinoff site called Christie & Catholicism, since those two subjects more and more dominate the content here. Not a criticism and not a dose of haterade, just … weird.

We didn’t start this “war”. Why is it so hard for you to understand that running another McLame or Romney, progressive Republican will yield the same result? You and the rest of the progressive GOP are literally, by definition, insane.

I’m no fan of Christie but the MFM has given his tiny scandal more treatment then all the scandals of the Obama Administration COMBINED and then multiplied by a factor of 100.

At least Christie FIRED someone over it.

Obama? Yeah, he gets a ‘sliding scale’ adjustment to the lowest part of the spectrum by the MFM and its adoration of its chosen wunderkind who can only manage to lie and get scandals. Where is the reporting on Obama at the level of Christie?

It’s about time conservatives started playing hardball,just like the establishment does.Unless the GOP becomes an effective vehicle for advancing a conservative agenda again,then it is essentially useless to us.Until conservatives embrace that concept,we will be at the mercy of the “moderates” who control the GOP,and who persistently use and abuse us because we let them.You go Cooch!

Why would you have a governor who refuses to campaign on behalf of other Republican governor candidates as the leader of the Republican governors association? What benefit is there?

Buddahpundit on January 22, 2014 at 11:54 AM

Did Cuccinelli go to New Jersey to campaign for Christie? They were both running at the same time, plus Christie was a sitting Governor with a job to do and a state recovering from a disaster. How would it have played nationally if he had run down to Virginia in the middle of that? I can see the headlines – “Christie hopes to help elect GOP Gov. in VA who will support him in 2016.” It would have been seen as blatant by everyone.

Unless Christie is tied to bridgegate, at worst the only thing that could be said about him is that he seemed to give off the idea that he would have thought this stunt was funny. I don’t think he is going to have any undue influence on grown men/women with their own futures to take care of, especially since so many of the Republican governs states are performing better than New Jersey.

Despite the hard feelings I’m not sure Cuccinelli is doing himself any good by talking down other Republicans. He should be worried about his own standing for future elections, not re-litigating the past.

Tater Salad on January 22, 2014 at 11:32 AM

Got him on TV and in the papers, didn’t it? And keeps him popular with the far right folks. He’ll figure out a way to make money out of this yet.

A guy who took money from the same people who bribed the Governor, while he was the state’s Attorney General, has some kind of nerve criticizing Chris Christie, don’tcha think?

I think the difference might be that Christie was invited to VA. If Cuccinelli wasn’t asked to come to N.J., wouldn’t that be another slap in the face? And don’t forget that Virginia’s governor was busy acting like an azz, I am sure distance was the better part of valor.

Unless Christie is tied to bridgegate, at worst the only thing that could be said about him is that he seemed to give off the idea that he would have thought this stunt was funny. I don’t think he is going to have any undue influence on grown men/women with their own futures to take care of, especially since so many of the Republican governs states are performing better than New Jersey.

Cindy Munford on January 22, 2014 at 12:21 PM

Christie endorsed Obama days before the election. Christie spent millions of taxpayer dollars needlessly so that he would not appear on the same ballot as Corey Booker. Christie attacked Republican leadership when they didn’t immediately give him all the relief money he was demanding. Christie and his whole obese family used recovery ads for political purposes.

Why are you defending the fat bastard? What good has he done? Allegations aside, Bob McDonnell was a good governor for VA- a hell of a lot better than a blowhard known more for yelling at people and hugging Obama than for actual accomplishment.

I’m not defending him. I won’t vote for Christie, I think he is all show no substance. That said, I don’t think he needs to resign from the RGA (a post I wouldn’t have elected him to)over the mere chance that he was involved. As a former citizen of Virginia, no matter how good a governor McDonnell was, it won’t make up for this stupid mess. I wish him luck at escaping jail but he is done.

Why would you have a governor who refuses to campaign on behalf of other Republican governor candidates as the leader of the Republican governors association? What benefit is there?

Buddahpundit on January 22, 2014 at 11:54 AM

There is a disturbing pattern with Christie that began long before his self-serving keynote speech at the Republican convention. He has always been all about himself. Remember this is the guy who said “now is not my time?”

In NY, we have a very credible candidate for governor in Rob Astorino. Just look at this exchange (right before Thanksgiving)and tell me why this guy should be head of the RGA?

In a news conference to announce personnel changes, Christie said he was “stunned” to read reports that said he was ready to support Westchester County executive Rob Astorino for governor if he ran against Cuomo, and said the stories did not describe the meeting correctly.

“He has not said he’s running for governor,” Christie said of Astorino. “He didn’t indicate to me that night that he was running for governor. The nature of our meeting … that was obviously leaked from people in his camp, our meeting was essentially me and [Christie’s wife] Mary Pat, with Rob and his wife, asking us about what it was like to run for governor with young children, and to serve as governor with young children.”

At the news conference in Trenton, Christie said “that was the entirety of the conversation,” and he stressed that Astorino “did not say he was going to run” and he “didn’t seek support,” adding the foursome didn’t even “talk about politics … except as how it related to the family.”

Christie became the new head of the Republican Governors Association in Arizona last month at its annual conference. The New York Post reported Christie and Astorino met at the Scottsdale event to discuss whether Astorino should challenge Cuomo. Cuomo was asked about the report last week and told reporters, “I can tell you this: I spoke to Gov. Christie this morning who told me the exact opposite. And I’ll leave it at that,” according to the New York Observer.

“When Gov. Cuomo called me, to discuss other matters, and brought that issue up, I told him exactly what he related, which was, Rob Astorino never asked me for support, didn’t say he was running for governor, nor did I pledge any support,” Christie said.

The governor, known for his direct style, also said as head of the RGA he could only support a Republican nominee, not a primary candidate.

“As RGA chairman, we’re looking to elect Republican governors in every state. And, once that’s cleared up in New York, as to who the Republican candidate might be, then we’ll make an assessment at the RGA about the worthiness of investing in that race,” Christie said.

So he’s hugging Obama and chatting up Cuomo. Cuccinelli is right-There are better governors to head up the RGA, and not just for “Bridgegate”.

I’m surprised, actually, that tea partiers haven’t made a bigger deal about urging Christie to resign from the RGA.

People dislike the dirty pool used by the “press” to take down Republicans as much or more than they dislike Christie.

And, if Christie is going to be forced to resign from the RGA, it should be for not supporting Cuccinelli. That’s his friggin’ job as head of the RGA. But, as always, Christie was thinking only about how campaigning for Cuccinelli would affect Christie. The membership of the RGA be damned.

I’ve not commented for a number of days, avoiding…
but I’m not really feelin the language of the left haters thing.

MontanaMmmm on January 22, 2014 at 11:39 AM

Yeah, I noticed that too. This particular article is simply oozing with leftist style hyperbole and rhetoric, while, at the same time, it seems to try to maintain some (nonexistent) level of objectivity.

I’m beginning to side with the faction here who is now concluding that this is no longer a conservative blog, and it’s “all about the clicks.”

I’m surprised, actually, that tea partiers haven’t made a bigger deal about urging Christie to resign from the RGA. If you want to brand him permanently as damaged goods before 2016, forcing him to shed his role as a party standard-bearer is the way to do it. How can you qualify to be your party’s nominee if you can’t qualify to head the RGA?

I’m not surprised, and I’m no Christie fan. Here’s why:

1.) We don’t actually yet know whether or not Christie has had any involvement

2.) Going after someone works best, and tea partiers are sufficiently ethical to only do so when, you know you have the truth and it is damning.

3.) Bridgegate is small potatoes as far as scandals go.

I’m quite happy to skip past Christie and look at other candidates. I don’t need to rip him a new one to do it.